


Doing the Dishes

by TheFandomLesbian



Series: Spencer's Raulson One-Shots [62]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Roanoke
Genre: Erotica, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, PWP, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Set after My Roanoke Nightmare before Return to Roanoke, Shameless Smut, Shaudrey - Freeform, Smut, raulson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 09:07:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24348478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFandomLesbian/pseuds/TheFandomLesbian
Summary: In her life after Matt, Shelby struggles with chores in her new apartment. The appearance of an unexpected but familiar face eases her concerns.
Relationships: Shelby Miller (American Horror Story)/Audrey Tindall
Series: Spencer's Raulson One-Shots [62]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1214643
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Doing the Dishes

**Author's Note:**

> For a prompt requesting Shaudrey smut where Audrey is more dominant... Sorry it took so long! :'D
> 
> Also, prompts are officially closed! I'm finishing up what's in my inbox, and then I'm going to be working on To Rule and Guide, the sequel to To Light and Guard, and I'm hoping to work on finishing Lady, You Don't Need to See during this time, as well :)

In an ugly, beige one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Shelby Miller stood in her kitchen over the sink full of dirty dishes. They stacked high, piling over on themselves. She stared at them, her enemies. The heaps tilted like the tower of Pisa. This was another thing she did in her new life—washing the dishes alone. It pained her, so she avoided it. Until now, when she had no more space to place her dirty plate on top of the crooked pillar of dishes and cutlery without risking the whole thing tumbling down. 

She had to wash the dishes. She had to do it alone.

It seemed a minuscule task, but for Shelby, it was another step in this new life without Matt. Before, she had cooked for them both, and then they had washed the dishes together. Even when they had a dishwasher, they had washed the dishes together, one scrubbing and the other rinsing and drying, while they talked about their days and they laughed and shared and exchanged secret kisses. 

Breaking from that now? That was monumental. 

The divorce papers rested on her kitchen table, unsigned. There was a coffee ring on the top paper. She had read them. A pen rested on the table beside them. She hadn’t had the heart, yet, to pick up that pen, to place its tip to the page, to sign her name and officially break the ties which had bound her to Matt for the past ten years. He had not answered her calls. He had not responded to her emails. He had had her served the divorce papers with no warning. 

But there had been warning. He hadn’t touched her in months. Before the show aired, it was seldom. Afterward, it was never. He smiled less. Sometimes, he washed the dishes alone, before she had the opportunity to join him. She had known it was coming subconsciously, though the reality had still stung. She licked her lips, eyes darting down to the tile floor, grounding herself here, in this ugly beige apartment without a dishwasher and without Matt. 

Steeling herself, she approached the sink. Her bare feet touched the fluffy pink rug her mother had bought her for this place, trying to liven it up. It hadn’t worked. The rug didn’t match the morose vapidity of this place and set against it in stark contrast, reminding Shelby of the emptiness and colorlessness of this new life. One hand reached toward the silver handle of the sink. With the heel of her hand, she pushed on the hot water. 

The jet startled her. She flinched. The hissing sound tore through her ears. Shelby ground her jaw as she watched the cold water vanish down the drain, steam rising from the stream as it warmed with time. She did not like to hear the water running. She felt it muted her ears to anything else sneaking up behind her. Once the water was suitably hot, she fumbled with the rubber plug to keep it from escaping, and then she squirted in her dish soap and a splash of bleach. 

The bubbles frothed up to the surface. Pushing the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows, Shelby sucked on her lower lip. The steam curled from the surface of the bubbling water. She flicked off the water. Taking the sponge, she pushed the dishes over, filling them all with the soapy water so they would soak. In some of the pans, several days’ of grease and film had accumulated; she knew they needed some magic to loosen the gunk she had allowed to settle upon them. 

Without the water running, the apartment seemed even more silent than before. 

Three quick raps on the door. Shelby snapped from her reverie.  _ I’m not expecting anyone.  _ Very few people knew she was here—Matt, her parents, her sister. Sidney had requested her official change of address, but she still had the forms on the kitchen table, buried under the divorce papers. She wasn’t sure she wanted anyone from the set to have a way to reach her. Dominic had called her—she wasn’t sure why. She had only encountered him a handful of times on set, always with Matt, but she didn’t like the way he looked at her.

She had blocked his number. She hoped that didn’t have anything to do with this. 

Moving on cats’ feet, Shelby crept to her own front door. She peered through the peephole out into the hallway of her apartment building. “What the hell?” Unlocking the door chain and the deadbolt, Shelby swung the door open to Audrey Tindall, her short hair messy and astray. “Audrey?” 

Red-rimmed eyes regarded her. The actress hadn’t bothered to don any makeup—in fact, under the ugly, yellow fluorescent lighting of this ugly, yellow apartment building, Audrey appeared rather washed out and ghastly. Audrey stepped around her and entered her apartment. Her heels brazenly clicked upon the floor. “Come on in,” Shelby said with a roll of her eyes. She closed the door behind her. “Audrey, what the hell are you doing here?” With absent hands, Shelby locked the door, the deadbolt and the chain. 

Brown eyes regarded her as Audrey swung, her dress spinning around her knees. “You’ve locked us in.”

Shelby blinked. “Yes.” She raised her eyebrows. “Would you expect anything else?” Audrey shrugged. “You still think we made it all up, don’t you?”

“I told Sidney he was a bit of a mug to believe your story.” Audrey’s eyes swept the ugly beige apartment, the sparse decorations Shelby had reluctantly placed to try to make the place more homey. It hadn’t helped. “I also thought he was daft to believe anyone would want this show on the telly.” She kept surveying the apartment, like she was looking for something, but Shelby couldn’t imagine what. Dark eyes snapped back to Shelby. “You know, I’ve appeared in more than seventy productions… Almost eighty. Television shows, films, stage productions. I thought I knew better than anyone. But I was wrong. Shows how much I know.”

Jaw tightening, Shelby glared at Audrey. “Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?” she snapped. Audrey had the  _ gall _ to come into her home—the home she shouldn’t have been able to find—and accuse her of lying about the worst thing that had ever happened to her? Shelby didn’t have much of a spine these days, but she wouldn’t stand for this treatment. 

Searching her face, Audrey considered her next words. Then, slowly, she spoke. “Rory left me.” Shelby’s eyes widened. “He filed for an annulment after our wedding night. Claimed he had been under the influence.”

Tilting her head, Shelby twirled her hair around one wet finger. The suds rolled from her fingers into her hair. “I was under the impression your wedding cost a great deal of money and took just as much planning. They considered it viable grounds for an annulment?”

“You’d be surprised what you can extort out of people when you have enough money.” Audrey swept the horrible beige apartment again. “This place is rather below your echelon, don’t you think?” 

Shelby raised her eyebrows. “I—I—” Why was Audrey putting the spotlight back on her? She had not welcomed Audrey here. Audrey had no right to ask her any pressing questions. She licked her lips. “I didn’t have time for a quality search. I was served the divorce papers while I was at the studio. Came home to find my things on the lawn. This was the first place I found that would allow me to move in, effective immediately.” Audrey held an arm out to her, taking a few tentative steps toward her, but Shelby shook her head, holding up both of her hands. “What are you doing here? How did you find me? No one has this address yet.” 

“Matt gave your forwarding address to Sidney.” 

Mouth twisting in frustration, Shelby tossed her hands up. “Of course he did.” She grimaced, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.  _ I wasn’t even sure I wanted Sidney to have my new address yet. _ He kept making offers, but she wasn’t ready for that yet. Her marriage had fallen apart. She’d sacrificed the man she had loved more than ten years and her family, and for what? For a good paycheck, her chance at the spotlight, and a horrible beige apartment? “He gave it to you?” 

Audrey held up her hands in surrender. She repeated, slower this time, “You’d be surprised what you can extort out of people when you have enough money.” Shelby chewed the inside of her cheek. “Why did Matt leave?” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Why did he end your relationship?” 

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business!” Shelby’s voice went shrill. 

Audrey crossed her arms. “The man survived a great ordeal with you—according to the both of you, anyhow, and you both seemed to have the same story. You both walked through hell and emerged from the fire together. How does he walk away from that when he knows the sacrifices you made for him? For his family?” A mist covered Shelby’s eyes. Audrey was unrelenting. “Hm?”

Touching her cheek, Shelby shook her head. “I—” She inhaled deeply through her nose. “Matt said there is someone else.” 

“He has another woman.”

“I guess so.” Shelby dabbed at the corners of her eyes. “Did you come here for a reason? Just to drag me through the mud a little bit more? I can assure you I’m already doing that enough to myself. I’m trying to get away from everyone, if the ugly apartment wasn’t evidence enough.” 

Closing the distance between them, Audrey extended a hand to Shelby. This time, Shelby didn’t hold up her hands to protect herself, nor did she evade, but she didn’t bring them any closer, either. “When Rory left, I was gutted. I thought I might partake in the company of someone who understands.” 

A skeptical scoff left Shelby’s lips. “You flew five thousand miles. Don’t you have any divorced friends in England?”  _ The divorce must be all over the news. _ Shelby purposely had avoided as much news as possible since she found this ugly apartment. 

Audrey’s dark eyes held hers. “This show destroyed two relationships. No one else knows what that’s like.” Shelby resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “And you’ve seen what’s become of Agnes because of it. I imagine you’ve seen the worst of Dominic, as well, haven’t you?” 

Shelby’s brows quirked. “What about Dominic?” 

“You don’t know?” Shelby shrugged. “He’s obsessed with you. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten his phone calls. Matt had to file for a restraining order.” Shelby sighed, bowing her head. “He’s escalated with me, as well. I suppose I’m some sort of stand-in for him.”

Licking her lips, Shelby lifted her eyes to the ceiling. “I—I had to block his phone number. That was all. I haven’t spoken to him.” Had she come this far, from coast to coast, only to find the danger here was just as real as it was on the other side of the country? “Am I safe here?” It felt silly, asking Audrey this question. She had no reason to trust Audrey with anything, much less her own life and safety, yet here she was, asking her opinion on such a matter. Audrey had cared enough to tell her about Dominic—perhaps she deserved Shelby’s trust. 

Audrey touched Shelby’s hand, fingertips to fingertips, hesitating before she made the contact fuller. Shelby’s brow fuddled. She blinked down to where their hands touched.  _ What is this? _ She marveled at the sensation, cool skin on skin. “You’re safe with me,” Audrey said. It struck her, the oddness of these words, but Shelby couldn’t fathom the words to question them, nor could she bring herself to sever the inexplicable bond forming between their fingertips, like opposite magnetic poles adhering to one another. 

She had more questions. “Will Sidney tell him where I am? Or will Matt?” 

“Sidney will do anything to keep the press raving about his productions. You know that.” Shelby rolled her eyes. Audrey was right; Sidney would sell her out for a few extra clicks on YouTube. “Matt… Only you can speak for him. Is he malicious?” 

Shelby shook her head. “No, he—he wouldn’t do anything to hurt me deliberately.” 

“Except break your heart and stomp on it while seeing another woman?” 

_ She’s right. _ “Touche.”  _ I wasn’t a good enough wife. _ Shelby averted her eyes. “Audrey, why… why are you really here? You didn’t fly this far to shoot the shit about Agnes and Dominic or Matt and Rory. Or at least, if you did, it could’ve been summed up in a phone call.” Shelby almost certainly would have declined a phone call from Audrey, but she decided not to mention the fact aloud right now. 

Audrey’s fingers laced with hers. “You’re right.” She led her to the couch, the ugly sofa fitting this ugly room. Shelby sat beside her on the unused middle cushion. Audrey pulled her purse into her lap. “I have not stopped thinking about you since I met you. Before Rory.” Shelby’s mouth drew downward at the corners. “At first, I thought it was a fluke. Of course, I should have some—some  _ interest _ in you. It was my job to  _ know _ you as well as you know yourself. I like to think I succeeded in some way.” Shelby’s jaw shifted in her mouth at Audrey’s words, uncertain where she led with this train of thought and still following it as uneasiness twisted inside of her. 

“But afterward… I couldn’t chase you out of my head, even then. Perhaps I regretted we weren’t better friends. I had planned on liking you, you know, when I was told I would portray someone who was still alive—you didn’t exactly make that easy for me. Nitwit.” Shelby snorted at the word, almost affectionate in its utterance. “I had thought Rory would distract me. Instead, that wanker threw a wrench in my whole life and destroyed my personal reputation, and I’m just as mad for you now as I was then.” 

Shelby blinked in astonishment. “You flew five thousand miles to  _ proposition me _ ?” Her voice drove up the octave. “My god! You’re worse than Dominic! At least he has the decency not to show up to my  _ apartment! _ ” 

“I haven’t propositioned you yet, have I?” 

Face flushing, Shelby shook herself. “Then why did you come?” 

Audrey raised her eyebrows. She reached into her purse, where it rested in her lap. “Revenge.” Shelby’s pulse picked up in her throat at the soft, firm word. “They say it’s best served cold, but… well, I think I prefer mine rather hot.” She pulled from her purse a strap-on. Shelby ogled at it, uncertain how to respond when she recognized it, having a million questions and no answers. Audrey made eye contact with her. Shelby’s mouth dried. “No strings attached, if you don’t desire them. Just something for  _ us _ , the two of us, to feel—to feel like we’ve done something to get back at them. To give them what they deserve.” 

Silence followed. Shelby couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. Audrey cleared her throat. She eased the purse and the strap-on out of her lap. “I suppose I should give you a few moments to think about it. May I use your loo?” 

Holding up a silent hand, Shelby pointed down the hallway, and Audrey thanked her and rose from the sofa, leaving her behind to look at the chic leather purse and the crude black sex toy Audrey had left behind. Shelby had used her share of dildos and vibrators before she had met Matt, but she had never used a strap-on. She’d never needed one. Her partner had always come with the appropriate mechanisms pre-attached, and no one had ever asked her to wear one, either. Undoubtedly, she would have refused, at least for a male partner—she drew the line at butt stuff. 

What was she doing? Sitting here, in this ugly apartment, sentenced to this life of washing dishes alone, procrastinating on signing her divorce papers  _ just in case _ her husband changed his mind after he admitted he had fallen in love with someone else… This was her prison. Matt was the judge, jury, and executioner; her slow and loveless death in this place was on his hands. She owed him nothing. She had risked  _ everything _ to try to build a better life for him, with him, had risked  _ everything _ to escape from that awful place with him and Flora and Lee, and how did he repay her? Leaving her for someone else whose name he wouldn’t even provide? He had no right. She could move on.

She wouldn’t call it revenge, though. She doubted Matt would care about her sexual ventures now. He had ignored all of her correspondences. Clearly, he was busy. No, if she wanted to do this, she had to desire it for herself, not for anyone else.

The question: Did she desire it?

Her tongue darted out across her lips. She had never known anything but Matt, not as an adult. They had met so soon after college. He was her first serious boyfriend, the only man who had ever proposed to her. Now, she was without him and without the future they had planned for themselves—having a family, raising children in a home in the heights with a white picket fence and a dog. She had to rip out all of his scaffolding and learn how to exist as her own adult woman. How could she manage that? She needed all of the help she could get. If Audrey would aid her in that… could she refuse?

_ Audrey. _ The name repeated in her mind. The woman had infuriated her on set, mostly out of envy—how had they managed to pick someone so much  _ prettier  _ than her to play her on set? She had boiled with fury when she realized her actress doppelganger was English, to boot, with that stupid, sexy accent.  _ Audrey. _ Audrey was beautiful. But how much did Shelby really know about her? She had money. She was somewhat famous. She was brave; her boldness had led her to fly across the globe to proposition a woman she barely knew. She was vengeful, also evidenced by her appearance here, intended to get back at her ex-husband. She had no problem telling things like she saw them. She was the first person who had cared enough to show up here, out of everyone Shelby knew. She was the first person to knock on her door and check on her. 

The toilet flushed. Through the wall, Shelby listened to the water running as Audrey washed her hands. Audrey was bold, stubborn, determined, vengeful, and honest. Did Shelby want to have sex with her? That was a difficult question to answer. 

The door opened. Audrey’s heels clicked faintly on the thin carpet as she walked. “So?” she asked, pausing mid-step when she spotted Shelby’s gaze upon her. 

Shelby stood. “There are some things I think you should know.” 

“Do tell.” 

She cleared her throat. “I don’t do  _ no strings attached. _ ” Audrey tilted her head. “I loved every man I ever slept with—or I thought I did, anyway. And I’ve only  _ been _ with men—not that I never considered anything else, but the opportunity never presented itself.”

Audrey opened her hands. “So what are you saying?” 

_ What am I saying? _ Shelby wasn’t sure. She had to make something up on the spot. “If you want something from me,” she said, carefully measuring her words, hoping they made sense, “you’ll get the whole package. I’m not looking for a relationship, but it’s—it’s that or nothing, with me. I don’t do the other things, the hookups, the—the friends with benefits, none of that is for me.” 

“I only suggested no strings attached to make you more at ease with the proposition. We can do whichever you prefer. Or neither, if you’d rather toss me out on my arse and live in this ugly flat alone in your misery.” 

“You think you want a relationship with me? After everything we’ve both been through recently? You think that’s a good idea?” 

Audrey sighed. “No.” The starkness of her response shocked Shelby; she supposed she had expected, or at least hoped for, something a little more optimistic. “No, I—I don’t think it is necessarily a good idea. But I also think that, for the two of us, the past few months—past few years, even—have been nothing but a series of shoddy ideas and rubbish decision-making. So if we decided to follow up our tragedies by uniting with one another, it’s hardly like it can make our lives much worse at this point, don’t you agree?” 

Shelby bit her lower lip. “You—You have a point.” She rocked her weight from foot to foot as she considered. “I know my life is destroyed. My personal life and my professional life. Getting a job as a civilian is damn near impossible when everyone recognizes you.” And, though she hadn’t learned firsthand yet, so was dating; she would have a terrible time finding an appropriate match any other way. “What about yours? Your marriage is annulled. You’re not even technically a divorcee, are you? You’re wealthy and famous. How is your life over?”

“It only takes one bad tabloid to start a smear campaign, you know.” Shelby watched Audrey’s face, the way it moved in the yellow light of this too-yellow apartment. “I am looking at being cast for new pictures coming up, and I would dearly like my interviews to discuss something  _ other _ than Rory and how he jilted me after our wedding night.” 

Shelby considered. Audrey had a point; the press would continue to devour the story about her and Rory until she had given them something even juicier to ask her. Was that a good enough reason for Audrey to hastily jump into a relationship with another woman? “Why am I that person? Surely you have your choice of dates.” Audrey was famous and beautiful.

Audrey tilted her head. “Why would I want my choice of dates when you’re standing right here in front of me?”

A blush rose to Shelby’s cheeks. “Flattery won’t get you anywhere.” 

“Won’t it?” Shelby ducked her head. “So? Do you accept my proposal?” 

Shelby took a step nearer to Audrey, holding out a hand. It settled onto Audrey’s waist. In her heels, Audrey stood taller than she did. Shelby tilted her head back to measure the distance between their mouths as she spoke. “I do.” She dipped Audrey down into the kiss. With her other hand, she pushed the strap-on into Audrey’s palm. 

Their lips met. Audrey took the strap-on by the hilt. She slipped out of her heels, leaving them there in the center of Shelby’s living room. One arm wrapped around Shelby’s body, drawing her closer by the small of her back. As she lowered herself to the floor, their bodies molded together more easily. Shelby severed the kiss. Audrey’s breath wafted across her mouth. “Let’s go to the bedroom?” Shelby suggested. Audrey nodded. 

Bare feet led the way across the thin carpet toward the single bedroom. Shelby hadn’t mounted her bed on a frame; the boxspring rested directly on the floor. The nightstand had old rings of water stain on the wood. Shelby almost expected Audrey to express some distaste, but while a flicker of it crossed her face, she said not a word about the shabby state of Shelby’s life. With a gentle toss, Audrey released the strap-on. It landed on the rumpled blankets of the sloppily made bed. Shelby sought another kiss. Audrey provided it without hesitance. Her hands rested on Shelby’s hips and fumbled their way up along her loose, stained sweater. 

Audrey’s chilled hands pressed to the bare skin of Shelby’s back. She gasped with surprise. Her hands fluttered to Audrey’s hips and felt the sequins of the dress rippling beneath her palms. Audrey’s mouth moved from hers to the sharp curve of her jawbone. Shelby leaned her neck over to give Audrey better access. 

Shelby hadn’t a clue what to do with her hands. She hadn’t slept with anyone but Matt for more than ten years. For the two of them, it was a well-choreographed dance, something practiced to the point of boredom; nothing new ever came of it. This tango was a novelty for her. Audrey’s insisting hands snaked beneath her sweater, higher and higher.  _ I’m not wearing a bra. _ She had scarcely worn a bra since she moved here, except when she went to the studio. Her blush darkened.  _ I’m not wearing panties, either. _ Did she need to stop? Did she need to warn Audrey? She wasn’t sure. 

Firm hands pressed Shelby’s back against the wall. She choked in surprise. The sweater drew up over her head. She released her hands from Audrey’s person and held them up over her head. Audrey carefully guided the sweater from Shelby’s arms. It turned inside out as she stripped it from her limbs. Audrey threw it haphazardly to the side. A heat curdled in the pit of Shelby’s stomach as Audrey flung herself at her again, this time her cool hands caressing her breasts directly. “Oh, Audrey—”

The flats of Audrey’s palms covered her nipples and areolas, smoothing against them. Shelby’s nipples stood up in response. They pebbled into the touch. Audrey bit her neck. “Ah!” It stung for a moment, vanishing into sweetness under Audrey’s tongue. Her hips bucked at the temporary smarting. Shelby raked her hands down the ripples of Audrey’s dress. She braced herself against Audrey’s body. Her right hand pawed around, finding a clasp behind Audrey’s neck. She undid it.

The zipper cascaded down with ease. The dress opened, pouring down Audrey’s shoulders in a waterfall of cream-colored fabric. She nipped at Shelby’s collarbones, a smattering of prickles followed by tingles of niceness. Each one elicited another moan, another grunt, from Shelby. Audrey bowed lower still, toward Shelby’s breasts, and as she did so, the dress hung lower and lower, revealing more and more of the expanses of freckled skin to Shelby. The pale bronze skin contrasted Shelby’s ivory plains of flesh. 

Audrey stood upright and shrugged her arms out of the dress, allowing it to fall to the floor. She stepped from it. The arm’s length distance allowed Shelby the opportunity to browse Audrey’s person. She drank in the sight of Audrey’s body. A white slip protected her body from view, and she wore lacy, red underwear; she had come prepared, even if Shelby hadn’t. Brown eyes caught her. Shelby’s lips buffered against one another before she found herself, and she compelled herself to speak. “You’re so beautiful, Audrey.” 

These were the right words. Audrey kissed her again. “So are you.” Shelby kissed her in return, mirroring everything Audrey did. “You can touch me, you know,” Audrey invited her. She held up her two arms, giving Shelby all the space she needed to work. “I don’t bite.”

Meekness curled through Shelby. She hadn’t experienced this with anyone other than Matt in so long… Learning to place her hands on another body again was a trial, but it was one she was prepared to face. Tentative hands rested on Audrey’s waist, on top of the slip. Through it, Audrey’s pebbled nipples protruded, having erected themselves with the heat of the situation. The junction between Shelby’s thighs burned with desire. “You’ll show me what to do?” Shelby asked.

Audrey took one hand and slipped it beneath the hem of her slip. “Do what feels right.” This time, the invitation settled more easily on Shelby’s shoulders; she accepted it, knowing Audrey  _ meant _ it, knowing she was doing nothing wrong by touching her in this way. 

She lifted the slip from Audrey’s body. Beneath it, she wore nothing, only her lacy red panties. Shelby kissed her neck. The sinew and veins twitched beneath her touch; Audrey’s throat fluttered with every gasping breath. Shelby found her collarbones. Her hands framed the space beneath Audrey’s breasts. With spidery fingers, she smoothed them upward against the fatty globes, using her thumbs against those pebbled nipples. Audrey puffed a breath in reply. 

Gentle but insistent arms guided Shelby back to the bed. She put her hand behind her and guided herself onto the mattress, stretching out upon the strewn-together blankets. With a sigh, she flopped back onto the pillows. Audrey crawled above her. Shelby eagerly spread her legs, but Audrey paused. “Audrey—” Shelby was astonished at the  _ whine _ entering her voice, the  _ plea _ . “What are you doing?” 

Using her thumbs, Audrey stripped herself of her panties, revealing coarse, stubbly pubic hair, and then she cinched the strap-on into place. “You’re so sexy,” Audrey breathed to her. “You’re so wet—” These words caused a shiver to pulse through Shelby; she  _ was _ wet, wetter than she had been in years. “I can smell you through those sweatpants.” The heady aroma hadn’t yet made it to Shelby’s nose, but she had no doubt Audrey told the truth. “What kind of knickers are you wearing for me, love?” 

Shelby squirmed. “I, um—knickers are panties, right?” 

The dirty talk facade dropped, and Audrey snickered. “Yes, knickers are panties, you gun-toting American.” 

A breathless laugh fluttered from Shelby’s lips. She tilted her head back, fidgeting as she settled deeper into the pillows. “Well, I, um, I’m going—I’ve been going  _ commando, _ recently, you could say.” Audrey’s eyes widened. “It saves on the laundry, and I wasn’t expecting to be impressing anyone today.” 

“I’m sure I’ll be impressed nonetheless.” Audrey kissed her on the lips. Tugging down Shelby’s drawstring pants, Audrey revealed her untamed garden of pubic hair, her thighs covered in thin patches, her legs beginning to grow unruly—she hadn’t bothered to shave since Matt. Shelby lifted her hips to help Audrey rid her of the pants, and they were tossed away into a pile at the foot of the bed with their other discarded garments. “There’s my beautiful girl…” Audrey chuckled a dark, devious thing. She pressed her mouth to the soft rise of one breast. Shelby’s breath quivered. “What’s that, love?”

Shelby fidgeted on top of the blankets. “I—I’m really wet for you,” she whispered. 

A tender hand caressed her cheek. “Then we’ll take care of that, won’t we, angel?” Audrey turned her head and opened her mouth, welcoming Shelby’s breast into her mouth. Shelby’s chest wracked at the sensation. Thick, hot saliva curled around her nipple. Audrey sucked incessantly. Her tongue whirled around the peak of Shelby’s nipple. It stood on end. With a  _ pop _ , she released the nipple, and she blew a stream of cool air across it, eliciting a cry from Shelby. “There we are…” 

Audrey’s right hand glided lower, down Shelby’s abdomen, between her legs. “Oh, Audrey—” Shelby couldn’t restrain the cry as it pulled up from her. “Audrey, please—” She had no need to beg, for Audrey’s fingers readily parted Shelby’s labia. Shelby slid her legs further apart. Her hips undulated upward. “I  _ need _ you,” Shelby pleaded. Audrey’s middle finger dipped into her vulva, her most velvety private areas. The wetness, the syrupy lubricant Shelby had produced, covered Audrey’s finger before she even dipped it into Shelby’s vagina. Audrey chuckled a low thing. Shelby wiggled her hips. “Give it to me!”

“What is it you want?” Audrey tilted her head, and her hair fell in such a way, catching the hideous light of the apartment and making it ethereal. “Tell me.” 

“You—” Shelby gasped. “Touch me—put it inside me.” She lifted her hips again. They beseeched Audrey, their eager solicitation. 

“What’s the magic word?” Audrey asked, tipping her head. 

_ Oh, fuck you! _ Shelby was not in the habit of being denied, not in this position; of course Audrey would find a way to irritate her  _ even now _ . But she knew the magic word. It emerged in a shaky voice. “Please?” 

A gentle nip on Shelby’s right nipple followed the answer. She flinched, bracing herself for a pain that didn’t come, but in the interim, Audrey positioned herself on top of her. She used one hand to spread Shelby’s thighs far apart. Her right hand steadied the strap-on by its hilt. “You are correct, sweetie.” The head of the strap-on posed right against the vestibule of Shelby’s vagina. Her heart picked up at the sensation. “Are you ready?”

“ _ Yes! _ ” The emphatic noise broached the air, and then she was  _ full. _ With one stroke of Audrey’s hips, she was  _ full _ . “Oh—Oh—Oh—” Her body fizzled with electricity. A grunt twisted form her with each jerk of Audrey’s wanton hips. Audrey braced herself above Shelby with her left forearm. Her right hand moved just a little higher. “Oh, yeah…” 

“You like that?” Her erect clitoris spasmed with each drawing movement, in and out. Audrey nibbled on her neck. “Do you like that?” She sank her teeth in, harder this time. Shelby’s hands wrapped around her shoulders. She moaned her satisfaction, restless and unsettled beneath Audrey’s ministrations. Audrey’s skin beneath her fingers was warm now, warm and soft. She curled her fingernails into it, pinching it. Her toes curled, as well. 

Each flourish of Audrey’s hips struck that place inside of her, the delicate place which made her seize with delight. Ecstasy poured from her. “Yes, yes—” Fireworks danced behind Shelby’s eyes. She arched her back. “Fuh-Faster. Audrey, faster—” 

Audrey’s mouth opened. Sweat trickled down her temple. With the exertion, she panted, her hips pushing the extension of her body into Shelby’s again and again. Her hot breath wafted across Shelby’s face and neck. She tingled wherever Audrey exhaled upon her. Shelby’s fingernails dug in tighter. She hiked up one leg on Audrey’s hip, then the other, crossing her ankles behind her and propelling Audrey deeper inside of her with each movement. Blinding flashes of euphoria twisted behind her eyes. 

The hand left Shelby’s throbbing clitoris. Shelby howled a protest, but Audrey took one leg by the knee and pushed it up to her chest, thigh almost touching her breast. “Oh  _ god _ —” The compromising position exacerbated the sensations gyrating within her. “Audrey, yes, yes—”

The hand found Shelby’s clitoris again. She chafed her thumb against the fluttering pearl, swollen with arousal. Audrey keened on every exhale, gasping with her inhale, and her quiet vocalizations wracked Shelby’s body with need. “Ah—Ah—Ah—” Audrey’s brown eyes didn’t leave Shelby’s face, though sweat dribbled down her temple and her hair fell into her eyes. 

Shelby’s body gnarled beneath her. “I’m gonna—Audrey, I’m close, I’m close, I’m—” She sucked in a deep breath. The strap-on continued to pound into her, stroking her delicate insides, and Audrey’s thumb rolled  _ faster _ and  _ firmer _ against Shelby’s swollen clitoris. The orgasm burst inside of her, her body contracting around the toy. “Oh,  _ fuck! _ ” Shelby bucked her hips erratically, unable to hold herself still; only the leg hiked around Audrey’s hips fixed her in place. 

With her body so tight, Audrey ceased her movement of the strap-on, and she slowed her rubbing of Shelby’s clitoris until the organ had stopped its seizes. Audrey leaned over her and kissed her on the mouth. Shelby panted her exerted breath into Audrey’s mouth. “That was so good,” Shelby exhaled. Her wetness trickled onto the covers. She lifted her mouth to kiss Audrey again.  _ I’ve never come like that before. _ No, that was a first, definitely. She licked her lips. That thing was still inside her, still attached to Audrey, and in the post-coital haze, she worshiped the gorgeous woman above her from below. “You’re so beautiful, Audrey…” She extended one shaking hand to tuck a rogue lock of hair behind Audrey’s ear. She felt the sweat beaded upon her forehead. “It’s warm in here, isn’t it?” 

Audrey gingerly withdrew the strap-on. Shelby hitched a breath; she was so tight, so sensitive, it hurt for the toy to leave her. “Sorry, love.” Audrey unsnapped the belt and tossed the toy onto the floor, curling up on the mattress beside Shelby. “Yes, it’s a bit warm.” She placed a hand on Shelby’s chest. “You’re bloody exquisite yourself, you know that?” 

Shelby laughed. “Everything you say sounds so impressive… It’s that accent.” 

“And here I’m thinking you’re the cute one, being the American.” Audrey giggled. It was a musical sound, and somehow, it, too, was accented. 

They lay there in the silence while Shelby caught her breath. Audrey drew patterns on her skin with her index finger. Beneath it, Shelby imagined the shapes. She wanted Audrey’s touch ingrained upon her skin, tattooed there; she wanted to mark every place Audrey touched her. “You, next?” Shelby asked once she could breathe steadily again. 

Brown eyes flitted to her, but before she could answer, Audrey’s cell phone rang. With a grumble, she rolled from the mattress and fumbled around on the floor for her dress. From the pocket, she pulled it out. 

A frown crossed her face. “Who is it?” Shelby asked. 

“Sidney.” The answer perplexed them both equally. Audrey sat down on the side of the bed, and Shelby pushed herself up to sit beside her. “Hello, this is Audrey…” Shelby couldn’t hear Sidney’s words distinctly, only his voice through the speaker as Audrey held it up to her ear. “Yeah, I know. No. No. No. No.” Each  _ no _ answered another statement of Sidney’s, and Shelby wondered what on earth could be so urgent. “No! I don’t want to be around him. I don’t want to see him ever again, especially for some stupid reality drama. You can call other people, but I’m out. I’m not interested.” Sidney rattled off something else to her in return. “Well, actually—no, Shelby is with me right now, and she’s not going, either. Neither of us want any part in that.”

This piqued Shelby’s curiosity. She tilted her head, resting her cheek on Audrey’s shoulder as she spoke, and Audrey reached down a consoling hand to lace their fingers together. “Yes, I understand, but I’m looking at starting new projects. My time with you as my director is done. You’ll have to make due with whoever is available to you. Goodbye, Sidney.” She hung up before he had the opportunity to jabber at her some more.

Shelby’s round eyes focused on Audrey’s face. “What is it that I’m not interested in?” She hadn’t given Audrey permission to speak for her, but she assumed—or, at least, hoped—it was for a very good cause.

Audrey pecked her cheek. “Sidney is starting season two of  _ My Roanoke Nightmare _ .” Shelby blinked in surprise. How could he do that? She and Matt had escaped, and no one lived on the property now, not as far as she knew. “He’s calling it  _ Return to Roanoke. _ He wants the original cast all to come to the house during the blood moon under surveillance and then edit it together and release it to the public.”

Shelby’s mouth dropped open. “He can’t do that! That’s dangerous! People will  _ die! _ ”

“He can and he is. Apparently Rory has already signed on. He’s reaching out to Matt and Dominic next. Lee and Monet. Maybe Agnes, as well.” 

A quiver passed through Shelby’s body. Her eyes stung with tears. “Matt won’t. Matt would never.” Loathing filled the pit of her belly. As much as she hated Matt—or wanted to hate him—she wouldn’t wish such a painful death on anyone. She licked her lips. “Do you think they will? I mean, Rory has always been reckless, but… the others?” Clearly Rory was of questionable judgment, what with marrying a woman he didn’t love and jilting her the next day, but the others had some stable heads on their shoulders. 

Audrey placed a placating hand on Shelby’s shoulder. “I don’t know. But between you and me, Monet was also offered a role in this next picture with me. And it’s certainly higher profile and higher paying than whatever Sidney is offering her. If enough people say no, Sidney won’t have a cast to do his stupid little show.” Shelby nodded, biting her lower lip. Was it worth the risk? Maybe she needed to make some calls. Maybe she needed to reach out to people and warn them, tell them, find a way to impress upon them how  _ real _ it was.

Audrey squeezed her hand. “I noticed some dishes in the sink when I got here… quite a stack of them.”

This observation pulled Shelby from her reverie. “Um… Yeah, yeah. I, um, Matt and I always used to wash the dishes together. I’ve been putting off doing it for awhile, but it’s time. I was just getting started when you burst in.” 

Rolling her eyes, Audrey chuckled. “You exaggerate. I didn’t  _ burst  _ in.” 

“You sure didn’t wait for an invitation before rushing into my apartment and completely upturning my peaceful life in this ugly yellow building.” Audrey cupped her cheek in one hand. Shelby melted into the touch. “I’ve never been more grateful.”

Audrey smiled. “How about I help you with those dishes, and then… you thank me?” She arched an eyebrow in challenge. “What do you say?” 

Shelby grinned. “I say…  _ Yes! _ ” 

The dishes weren’t so frightening after that. 


End file.
